Revised 2018

1. Stratification

2. What Is Stratification?
● Stratification refers to systematic inequalities
between groups of people that arise as
intended or unintended consequences of
social processes and relationships.
2

5. What is the meaning of the word
“class”

7. The United States has some vertical social mobility, but
not as much as several nations in Western Europe.

8. Functionalist sociologists rely on measures
of socioeconomic status (SES), such as education, income,
and occupation, to determine someone’s social class.
Source: Data from General Social Survey, 2008.

9. ● Conflict sociologists prefer different,
though still objective, measures of social
class that take into account ownership of the
means of production and other dynamics of
the workplace.

10. What are different ways status
can be measured?
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/national/20050515_CLASS_GRAPHIC/

11. People Like Us - At the
Bottom
Tammy’s Story
Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqs4_Zs2GvI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqs4_Zs2GvI

12. Do we really want equality?
https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_ariely_how_equal_do_we_want_the_world_to_be_you_d_be_surprised?language=en

13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU5MtVM_zFs&list=PLD202884902BBB1A8

14. Social Stratification
● A relatively fixed, hierarchical
arrangement in society by which groups
have different access to resources,
power, and perceived social worth.
● In a sports organization:
◦ Owners control the resources of the
teams.
◦ Players earn high salaries, yet do not
control the team resources.
◦ Sponsors provide the resources.
◦ Fans provide revenue.

15. Diverse Sources of
Stratification
● Race, class, and gender are overlapping
systems of stratification.
● Class position is manifested differently,
depending on race and gender.
● Example: A Black middle-class man who is
stopped by police when driving through a
White middle-class neighborhood may feel
his racial status is his most outstanding
characteristic, but his race, class, and
gender always influence his life chances.

16. Forms of Stratification
16
The estate system is
a politically based
system of
stratification
characterized by
limited social
mobility.
The caste system is
a system of
stratification based
on hereditary
notions of religious
and theological
purity and generally
offers no prospects
for social mobility.
The class system is
an economically
based system of
stratification with
somewhat loose
social mobility based
on roles in the
production process
rather than individual
characteristics.

17. Social Mobility
● The estate tax in the United States is related to
the issue of stratification because it goes to the
heart of questions about how to promote
business growth, how wealth should be
distributed, how to encourage meritocracy, and
how to build a more equitable society.
17

18. Functional and Conflict Theories of
Stratification
Inequality
Functionalism
Motivates people to fill
positions that are needed
for the survival of the whole.
Conflict Theory
Results when those with the
most resources exploit
others.

19. Infographic, CEO Compensation, 1978-2008
Figure 7.2 CEO Compensation, 1978–
2008
You May Ask Yourself, 2nd Edition
Copyright © 2011 W.W. Norton & Company

20. Functional and Conflict Theories of
Stratification
Class Structure
Functionalism
Differentiation is essential
for a cohesive society.
Conflict Theory
Different groups struggle
over resources and
compete for social
advantage.

21. Functional and Conflict Theories of
Stratification
Life chances
Functionalism
Those who work hardest
and succeed have greater
life chances.
Conflict Theory
The most vital jobs in
society are usually the least
rewarded.

22. How Is America Stratified Today?
● The income gap
between high-income
and low-income
individuals has
increased dramatically
over the last 30 years.
● One out of two people
are living in or heading
to poverty in the United
States
22

23. Social Stratification
● Why Is There Inequality?
● The Class Structure of the
United States
● Diverse Sources of Stratification
● Poverty

24. Figure 7.3 Average CEO Pay versus Production
Worker Pay, 1970–2002
You May Ask Yourself, 2nd Edition
Copyright © 2011 W.W. Norton & Company

25. Figure 7.2 CEO Compensation, 1978–
2008
You May Ask Yourself, 2nd Edition
Copyright © 2011 W.W. Norton & Company
Infographic, CEO Compensation, 1978-2008

26. Inequality in the United
States
● Nearly 1 in 6 children in the U.S.
live poverty:
◦ 30% of African American
children
◦ 29% of Hispanic children
◦ 12% of Asian American
children
◦ 9.4% of White non-Hispanic
children

27. Inequality in the United
States
● 15% of the U.S. population has no
health insurance.
● The average cost of a day’s stay in the
hospital is $1, 217—two weeks’ pay
for the average worker

28. Inequality in the United
States
● 1% of the U.S. population controls 38% of
the total wealth in the nation.
● The bottom 20% owe more than they own.
● CEOs of major companies earn an average
of $13.1 million dollars per year.
● Workers earning the minimum wage make
$10,712 per year, if they work 40 hours a
week for 52 weeks per year and hold only
one job.

29. The Laddered Model of Stratification

30. The Double Diamond Model of
Stratification

31. Median Income by Race and Household
Status

32. Wealth and Income
● Wealth is the monetary value of
everything one owns, minus debt.
◦ It is calculated by adding all financial
assets and subtracting all debts.
● Income is the amount of money
brought into a household from various
sources during a given period.

33. Distribution of Wealth and
Income
● The wealthiest 1% own 38% of all net
worth; the bottom 80% control only
17%.
● The top 1% also owns almost half of
all stock; the bottom 80% own only 4%
of total stock holdings.

34. The Tax Burden: For Whom?

35. Poverty Among the Old and
Young

36. Defining Social Mobility
● Social mobility is a person’s movement over
time from one class to another.
● Social mobility can be up or down, although
the American dream emphasizes upward
movement.
● Mobility can also be either
intergenerational, occurring between
generations; or intragenerational, occurring
within a generation.

37. Table 7.1 Relative Social Prestige of
Selected U.S. Occupations
You May Ask Yourself, 2nd Edition
Copyright © 2011 W.W. Norton & Company

38. Social Mobility
● Mobility is a collective effort that involves
kin and sometimes community.
● Upward Mobility
◦ People who are upwardly mobile are often
expected to distance themselves from
their origins.
● Downward Mobility
◦ As income distribution is becoming more
skewed toward the top, many in the
middle class are experiencing mobility
downward.

39. Globalization and Sweatshops
Supporting the Brands You Love:
Two Viewshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2sW2wt3nLU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9a_D-azUogg

40. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1pXg3OqH_g

41. Who are the Poor?
● In 2002, there were 34.6 million poor
people in the U.S.
● The poor:
◦ 31% of Native Americans
◦ 24% of African Americans
◦ 22% of Hispanics
◦ 10% of Asians and Pacific Islanders
◦ 10% of Whites
U.S. Poverty Rate Climbed To 15.1 Percent in
2011, Total Number Hit All-Time Record Total
Population - 312,000,000 – 47,000,00 in poverty

42. How do we compare to the world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpKbO6O3O3M

43. The lines at the local food bank.

44. Who are the Homeless?
● A 2001 survey of 27 cities found that
the homeless population is:
◦ 50% African American
◦ 35% White
◦ 12% Hispanic
◦ 2% Native American
◦ 1% Asian

45. Who are the Homeless?
● Battered women
● Elderly
● Disabled
● Mentally Ill (20-25%)
● Veterans
● AIDS victims

46. What do you think are the
Reasons for Homelessness?
● Unemployment and/or eviction
● Reductions in federal support for
affordable housing
● Eroding work opportunities
● Inadequate housing for low-
income people

47. What do you think are the
Reasons for Homelessness
● Reductions in public assistance
● Inadequate health care
● Domestic violence
● Addiction
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
E-naXAOUslM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I
Cx3AfSlc-w&feature=related

48. Explanations of Poverty
● Culture of poverty - poverty is a way
of life that is transferred from
generation to generation.
● Structural causes of poverty -
poverty is caused by economic and
social transformations taking place in
the U.S.

49. Arguments Against
“The Culture of Poverty”
● Fewer than 5% of the poor are
chronically poor.
● 41% of the able-bodied poor work.
● The pattern of “welfare cycling” is
promoted by wages too low to support
a family.